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capital punishment

[kap-i-tl puhn-ish-muhnt]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

punishment by death for a crime; death penalty.

capital punishment

noun

the punishment of death for a crime; death penalty

capital punishment

The death penalty for a crime.

capital punishment

The infliction of the death penalty as punishment for certain crimes. (See capital offense.)

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In the United States, capital punishment has been an extremely controversial issue on legal, moral, and ethical grounds. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was not, in principle, cruel and unusual punishment (and not, therefore, unconstitutional), but that its implementation through existing state laws was unconstitutional. In 1976, the Supreme Court again ruled that the death penalty was not unconstitutional, though a mandatory death penalty for any crime was. Thirty-nine states now practice the death penalty.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of capital punishment¹

First recorded in 1575–85

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Hochman, who gave his prosecutors the power to seek the death penalty again earlier this year, said prosecutors would take months to decide whether to seek capital punishment against Medina-Berumen.

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He was one of the last people to be sentenced to death before capital punishment was abolished in the Republic of Ireland.

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Biden, who positioned himself as pro-reproductive choice, has continued to maintain consistently that he's still "not big on abortion," just as he's made his positions against capital punishment clear.

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US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who directed prosecutors to seek capital punishment, said in April that Mr Thompson's death was "an act of political violence".

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In the capital punishment formal notice, filed on Thursday, prosecutors say Mr Mangione poses a future danger because of his expressed intention to target the healthcare industry and rally support to his cause through violence.

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capital outlay capital resources

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